Projection subsystem

ABSTRACT

Projection subsystems are described. More, particularly, projection subsystems that include a light source and a polarizing beam splitter are described. The polarizing beam splitters of the presently described projection subsystems are capable of avoiding performance degradation even after exposure to large doses of incident light.

FIELD

The present description relates to projection subsystems. More,particularly, the present description relates to projection subsystemsthat include a light source and a polarizing beam splitter. Thepolarizing beam splitters of the presently described projectionsubsystems are capable of avoiding performance degradation even afterexposure to large doses of incident light.

BACKGROUND

A projection system typically includes a light source, one or more imageforming components, or imagers, projection optics, and a screen. Often,imagers used in projection systems are typically polarization-rotating,image-forming devices, such as liquid crystal display imagers, whichoperate by rotating the polarization of the light to produce an imagecorresponding to digital video signals. Imagers used in projectionsystems typically rely on polarizers to separate light into a pair oforthogonal polarization states (e.g., s-polarization andp-polarization). Therefore, projection systems also will generallyinclude a polarizing beam splitter to serve this purpose.

Recent technical advances have enabled the production of ultra-compactprojection engines and systems that have relatively high light output(e.g. greater than 40 ANSI lumens). With these high levels of lightoutput, and correlated light input levels from the light source, seriousissues with the lifetime of the polarizing beam splitter, or beamsplitters, within the projection system have arisen. Most notably,higher light intensity incident upon conventional polarizing beamsplitters using polymeric reflective polarizers has led to degradationof the polymeric reflective polarizers at short lifetimes, and thuseffective failure of the projection systems. It would be highlydesirable to provide a projection subsystem that was capable of exposureto high intensity and doses of incident light while maintainingnecessary performance over a longer lifetime.

SUMMARY

In one aspect, the present description relates to a projectionsubsystem. The projection subsystem includes a light source and apolarizing beam splitter that receives light from the light source. Thelight source emits light that includes blue light. The polarizing beamsplitter includes a reflective polarizer upon which light from the lightsource is incident, a first cover placed between the reflectivepolarizer and the light source, and a second cover positioned on theopposite surface of the reflective polarizer from the first cover. Thefirst and second cover both include plastic. The polarizing beamsplitter exhibits a measured b* yellowness index of light that travelsthrough it, and the b* yellowness index changes by less than 2.0 fromits first exposure until after the polarizing beam splitter has beenexposed to a dose of blue light of 0.3 MJ/mm². Output light is projectedfrom the projection subsystem with an intensity of greater than 50lumens.

In another aspect, the present description relates to a projectionsubsystem. The projection subsystem includes a light source and apolarizing beam splitter that receives light from the light source. Thelight source emits light that is at least 10% blue light. The polarizingbeam splitter includes a reflective polarizer upon which light from thelight source is incident, a first cover placed between the reflectivepolarizer and the light source, and a second cover positioned on theopposite surface of the reflective polarizer from the first cover. Thefirst and second cover both include plastic. The polarizing beamsplitter exhibits a measured b* yellowness index of light that travelsthrough it, and the b* yellowness index changes by less than 2.0 fromits first exposure until after the polarizing beam splitter has beenexposed to over 8000 hours of incident light from the light source.Light projected from the projection subsystem has an intensity ofgreater than 50 lumens.

In yet another aspect, the present description relates to a projectionsubsystem. The projection subsystem includes a light source and apolarizing beam splitter that receives light from the light source. Thelight source emits light that is at least 10% blue light. The polarizingbeam splitter includes a reflective polarizer upon which light from thelight source is incident, a first cover placed between the reflectivepolarizer and the light source, and a second cover positioned on theopposite surface of the reflective polarizer from the first cover. Thefirst and second cover both include plastic. The polarizing beamsplitter exhibits a measured b* yellowness index of light that travelsthrough it, and the b* yellowness index changes by less than 2.0 fromits first exposure until after the polarizing beam splitter has beenexposed to over 4000 hours of incident light from the light source.Light projected from the projection subsystem has an intensity ofgreater than 100 lumens.

In another aspect, the present description relates to a projectionsubsystem. The projection subsystem includes a light source and apolarizing beam splitter that receives light from the light source. Thelight source emits light that is at least 10% blue light. The polarizingbeam splitter includes a reflective polarizer upon which light from thelight source is incident, a first cover placed between the reflectivepolarizer and the light source, and a second cover positioned on theopposite surface of the reflective polarizer from the first cover. Thefirst and second cover both include plastic. The polarizing beamsplitter exhibits a measured b* yellowness index of light that travelsthrough it, and the b* yellowness index is less than 3.0 after exposureto over 8000 hours of incident light from the light source. Blue lightis incident upon the reflective polarizer with an intensity of greaterthan 6 mW/mm².

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 schematically illustrates an embodiment of a projection subsystemaccording to the present description.

FIG. 2 schematically illustrates an embodiment of a projection subsystemaccording to the present description.

FIG. 3 schematically illustrates a polarizing beam splitter that is partof a color combiner.

FIG. 4 is a Probability Plot for Calibrated Dose of different polarizingbeam splitter samples.

FIG. 5 is a graph of b* yellowness versus dose of incident light for twopolarizing beam splitter samples.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present description aims to provide for a projection system orsubsystem in which light with a higher intensity enters into, and isemitted from, the system. In such a case, micro-projection systems basedon polymeric reflective polarizers suffer from failure of the systemafter a short amount of use. This may be in part due to the failure ofpolarizing beam splitters within such systems. The present descriptionaims to solve this problem by providing a projection subsystem that iscapable of exposure to high intensity and doses of incident light whilemaintaining necessary performance over a longer lifetime. In order toproduce images having a wide range of colors, a projector will typicallyuse a light source that is capable of producing light of at least threedistinct colors. These colors are known as the primary colors andtypically are generally categorized as red, green, and blue. A lightsource will typically be configured to supply the projection system witha ratio of these three colors such that the resultant color of the lightwill appear white to a typical observer. Images that are not pure whiteare then formed by using an image forming device to selectively controlhow much light of each color is transmitted to the screen from eachpixel of the image.

A given amount of light energy will produce a certain visual response inan observer. There are well-known relationships between the energy(expressed, for example, in units of Watts) and the visual response(expressed, for example, in units of lumens). Producing a white image ofa desired number of lumens will require a certain amount of energy ofred, green, and blue light from the source. The energy required from thesource will depend on the efficiency of the optical system as well asthe spectral distribution of each of the primaries and the desired colorof the white point. For example, if the optical system has an efficiencyof 20%, then the source must emit 5 times as much light as the observerwill see on the screen (for a 100 lumen white image, the source willhave to produce about 500 lumens). Using some general values for red,green, and blue LEDs, the amount of light from each primary can beestimated to make up a desired white light. For the example of a 500lumen white source with a white point of D65 (as defined by the CIEstandards) the light might consist of roughly 133 lumens from the redprimary, 340 lumens from the green primary, and 27 lumens from the blueprimary. This white light may therefore be stated as a ratio of primarycolors measured “photometrically,” in other words, in terms of theluminance of each color. For this example, the 500 lumen white source is26.5% red, 68.1% green, and 5.4% blue. In another sense, the white lightoutput may be analyzed and measured in terms of the energy of the light(radiometrically). For this same case, the total light power output isabout 1.9 W, of which 0.76 W are red, 0.65 W are green, and 0.49 W areblue. Thus, a radiometric measurement of this 500 lumen white lightsource yields a radiometric ratio of red, green and blue of 40.1% red,33.9% green, and 25.9% blue. This is provided only as an example andmust be determined for any optical system based on the various factorsalready mentioned. Throughout the claims and specification, lightsources may be defined both in terms of photometric and radiometricmeasurements. Thus, a white light source may be described as a 500 lumenlight source (a photometric measurement), but may also be described ascontaining 25.9% blue light in terms of energy. Throughout thespecification, intensity or brightness of light sources will generallybe described by photometric measurement (i.e. lumens). However, whenthere is an attempt to define the amount or ratio of blue light withinthe entirety of the output light (e.g. light made up of 10% blue light),this ratio or amount will generally be described or calculated in termsof energy (i.e. Watts).

When light interacts with a material, such as a polymeric reflectivepolarizer, it can cause damage that degrades the performance of thematerial. Experiments have shown that blue light causes the most damagein polymeric reflective polarizers and that the rate of damage caused bythe blue light depends on the energy density of blue light incident onthe polymeric reflective polarizer. The energy density may be expressedin units of, for example, W/m² or mW/mm². Continuing with the 500 lumensource example, if the light from this source is incident on apolarizing beam splitter in the shape of a cube with sides of 1 cm andwith the film mounted so that it is at 45° relative to the light beam,then the blue light irradiance on the reflective polarizer would be atleast 3.5 mW/mm² on the film. In real projection systems, the light israrely this uniformly distributed and the irradiance on some areas ofthe reflective polarizer would be significantly higher than this averageestimate.

FIG. 1 illustrates a projection subsystem 100 according to the presentdescription. Projection subsystem 100 includes a light source 102. Thelight source 102 may be any number of appropriate light sources commonlyused in projection systems. For example, the light source 102 may be asolid-state emitter such as a laser or light emitting diode (LED)emitting light of a specific color such as red, green, or blue light.The light source 102 may also include a phosphor or other lightconverting material that absorbs light from the emissive source andre-emits light at other (generally longer) wavelengths. Suitablephosphors include well known inorganic phosphors such as Ce-doped YAG,strontium thiogallate, and doped silicate and SiAlON-type materials.Other light converting materials include III-V and II-VI semiconductors,quantum dots, and organic fluorescent dyes. Alternatively, the lightsource may be made up of a plurality of light sources, such as a red, agreen and a blue LED, where such LEDs may be activated together orsequentially. Light source 102 may also be a laser light source, orpotentially a traditional UHP lamp.

Light 104 is emitted from the light source and travels towardspolarizing beam splitter 110. Optical elements commonly used inprojection systems may be placed between the light source 102 andpolarizing beam splitter 110. Such elements may include, for example, acollimator, as described in commonly owned and assigned U.S. Pat. No.7,901,083, incorporated herein by reference. The light source of thepresent description may generally be understood to emit light at a veryhigh intensity and luminous flux. For example, light 104 emitted fromthe light source 102 that is incident upon polarizing beam splitter 110may have an luminous flux of greater than 150 lumens, or greater than200 lumens, or greater than 300 lumens, or greater than 400 lumens, orgreater than 500 lumens, and potentially even greater than 750 lumens or1000 lumens. As described earlier, typical projection systems orsubsystems often times have an optical efficiency of between about 15 to25%. As such light 122 that is ultimately emitted or projected from theprojection may generally be of a brightness and intensity of greaterthan 50 lumens, and potentially greater than 60 lumens, greater than 70lumens, greater than 80 lumens, greater than 90 lumens, greater than 100lumens, or even greater than 110 lumens. A good portion of the lightthat is emitted from light source 102 will be “blue light.” For purposesof this description, and likely as understood in the art generally, bluelight may be understood as light with a wavelength of between about 430nm and about 490 nm. Light that is emitted from light source 102 andincident upon polarizing beam splitter 110 may contain at least 5% bluelight, or at least 10% blue light, or at least 15% blue light (whereagain blue light is light having a wavelength of between about 430 nmand about 490 nm).

Polarizing beam splitter is made up in part of a reflective polarizer106. Reflective polarizer 106 is surrounded by a first cover 108 and asecond cover 112. First cover 108 is positioned between the reflectivepolarizer 106 and the light source 102. Second cover 112 is positionedon the opposite surface of the reflective polarizer 106 from the firstcover 108 (and therefore also opposite the reflective polarizer fromlight source 102). Reflective polarizer 106 may be made up of any numberof suitable reflective polarizers. For example, the reflective polarizer106 may be a multilayer optical film, such as that described in commonlyowned U.S. Pat. No. 6,486,997, which is hereby incorporated by referencein its entirety. In at least some embodiments, the reflective polarizer106 may be made of PEN, and potentially be of a multilayer formationwith alternating layers of PEN and coPEN. The reflective polarizer mayalso be made of other suitable resins used to create a birefringentmultilayer film, such as PET, for example.

First cover 108 and second cover 112 surround reflective polarizer 106.Very often in the prior art, covers of a polarizing beam splitter arecomposed of glass. However, in the current description, it is an objectof the invention to better match the properties of the covers (108, 112)with those of the film 106. Specifically, it is desired that thecoefficient of thermal expansion of the first cover 108 and/or thesecond cover 112 be substantially matched to the machine direction(i.e., the direction transverse to the stretched direction of the film)coefficient of thermal expansion of the reflective polarizer 106. Forexample, the first and second cover may each have a coefficient ofthermal expansion that is between about 60 ppm/K and about 120 ppm/K.This may generally be within about 40 ppm/K of the coefficient ofthermal expansion in the highest axial direction of the reflectivepolarizer. In at least some embodiments, rather than glass, the firstcover 108 and/or second cover 112 may be made up in part of a non-glassmaterial. For example, the first cover 108 and/or second cover 112 maybe made of a plastic material. Appropriate materials for the first andsecond covers may include polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) or cyclicolefins (CO) or copolymers of PMMA or CO and those discussed in commonlyowned U.S. Pat. No. 7,529,029, column 16, lines 44-54. This section ofU.S. Pat. No. 7,529,029 is hereby incorporated by reference.

First cover 108 and second cover 112 may be fixed to reflectivepolarizer by any number of appropriate means. For example, first cover108 and second cover 112 may be secured to reflective polarizer 106 byadhesive layers 126 a and 126 b, respectively. In a number ofembodiments, the adhesive will be substantially matched in index ofrefraction to the reflective polarizer 106, first cover 108, secondcover 112, or all three, such that light is separated by polarization atpolarizer 106 rather than by reflection at the interface with adhesive126 a, 126 b. The properties of the adhesive 126 a, 126 b should also bechosen such that there is minimal disruption to the matching incoefficient of thermal expansion of the covers and reflective polarizer,and accompanying benefits thereof. Adhesive layer 126 a, 126 may in someembodiments be pressure-sensitive adhesives. In other embodiments,adhesive layer 126 a, 126 b may be photocurable adhesives orthermally-cured adhesives or two-part adhesives.

The projection subsystem, or larger system of which the projectionsubsystem is a part, may in many embodiments include an imager 120. Inthe embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, the imager 120 is a reflectiveimager. One appropriate imager is a liquid crystal on silicon (LCoS)imager. Light 104 that is incident upon reflective polarizer 106reflects light of a certain polarization (i.e. either s-polarized orp-polarized light) towards imager 120 and transmits light of theopposite polarization. Thus in certain embodiments, the imager 120 maybe placed such that the polarization that transmits through thepolarizer 106 is incident upon the imager 120. In this embodiment, thepolarized unimaged light 114 that is reflected is incident upon imager120. The light is imaged and redirected as imaged light 116 back towardsthe polarizing beam splitter 110.

In order to improve the contrast ratio of the projected image apre-polarizer 118 may also be placed between the light source 102 andreflective polarizer 106 before the light is separated at reflectivepolarizer 106. The pre-polarizer may generally relate to previouslydescribed pre-polarizers such as the pre-polarizers described incommonly owned and assigned U.S. Pat. No. 6,088,067, incorporated hereinby reference.

Of course, in any construction in which light is projected, the color oflight may be of at least some importance. However, where the light isbeing imaged and projected, the ability to control the color of light isof paramount importance. Unfortunately, polymeric reflective polarizersused in polarizing beam splitters within projection systems degradeafter a given amount of time. This degradation becomes far more rapidwith higher intensity light sources, such that where two films have beenexposed to equivalent doses of light (MJ/mm²), the film that has beenexposed to these doses at higher intensity will degrade far morequickly. This degradation may generally cause a “yellowing” of the lightthat travels through or is reflected off of the reflective polarizer106. In order to quantify the amount of “yellowing” and thus degradationthat occurs with a given film or polarizing beam splitter, one maymeasure the transmission or reflection of light by the film and thencalculate the color of the transmitted light in the well-known CIEL*a*b* color space. Some instruments can do this measurement directly.The b* value is a general indication of yellowness, with higher positivevalues representing increased yellowness. In this application, we referto the “b* yellowness index” in order to make clear that we are usingthis method as a gauge of the yellowness of the light that travelsthrough the film.

Generally, the polarizing beam splitter 110 of the present descriptionwill display a low b* yellowness index value for exiting light. Forexample, the b* yellowness index value of light traveling through thebeam splitter at first use may be less than 1.0 or less than 1.5 or lessthan 2.0 or less than 2.5. The initial value of b* yellowness, however,does not in any way speak to the lifetime of the beam splitter. This isbecause, once again, the b* yellowness of light traveling throughpolarizing beam splitters will rise upon further exposure to incidentlight 104. A typical level of b* yellowness of light that may beconsidered “failure” for purposes of a projection system is likely morethan 4.0. Many prior art projection systems, when exposed to lightsources emitting light of a brightness of 250 lumens or especially 500lumens, and providing an energy density of blue light of greater than 5mW/mm² may reach unacceptable b* yellowness index values at shortamounts of time.

However, in the current description, where the light source 102 has abrightness of, e.g. 150 to 400 lumens, and the projection subsystememits or projects light of greater than 50 lumens, the b* yellownessindex will change by less than 2.0 after 8,000 hours of use. The b*yellowness index value of light after 8,000 hours of use may generallybe 3.0 or less. Further, in the current description, where the lightsource 102 has a brightness of emitted light of, e.g. 300 to 1000 lumensand the projection subsystem 100 emits or projects light of greater than100 lumens, the b* yellowness index of light emitted from the beamsplitter will change by less than 2.0 after 4,000 hours of use.

Where the b* yellowness index value of light after 8,000 hours of usemay generally be 3.0 or less and/or may change by less than 2.0 after8,000 hours of use, the light may also be incident upon the reflectivepolarizer of the PBS with a high intensity. Particularly the blue light(as defined herein) may be incident upon the reflective polarizer withan intensity of greater than 6 mW/mm² or greater than 8 mW/mm² orgreater than 10 mW/mm².

A corollary measure to that of brightness and intensity of the lightthat is incident upon a polarizing beam splitter, and the brightness andintensity of light that is projected from the projection subsystem 100(e.g. 122, 222) is the “dose” of incident light that the polarizing beamsplitter receives. The dose of light incident on any portion of a filmmay be estimated by multiplying the irradiance on that portion of filmby the duration of that exposure. More specifically, one may measure thedose of “blue” light that the polarizing beam splitter receives (whereblue light is defined as above). The light incident on any portion ofthe film may arrive from different directions. For example, a region ofthe film may be exposed to light from the illuminator and also reflectedlight from the imager. All of the incident light must be summed whencalculating the dose of incident light. Where the projection subsystememits light at an intensity of greater than 50 lumens, and thepolarizing beam splitter 110 has been exposed to a dose of 0.3 MJ/mm²,then the b* yellowness index of light emitted from the beam splitterwill change by less than 2.0. The b* yellowness index of light emittedfrom the beam splitter may also change by less than 2.0 after doses of0.35 MJ/mm² or even 0.40 MJ/mm² where the projected light 122 intensityis 50 lumens.

Once imaged light 116 returns to polarizing beam splitter 110 it travelsthrough first cover 108, reflective polarizing film 106 (as some of theimaged light may be of the “pass” polarization state), and throughsecond cover 112. Projected light 122 then leaves polarization beamsplitter 110 where it encounters projection lens 124 en route to beingprojected to the display, such as a viewing screen. While onlyillustrated with a single element projection lens 124, subsystem 100 mayinclude additional imaging optics as needed. For example, the projectionlens 124 may in fact be a plurality of lenses, such as lens group 250 ofcommonly owned and assigned U.S. Pat. No. 7,901,083.

As discussed above, the intensity of light incident upon polarizing beamsplitter 110 will generally be quite high, making longer lifetimesdifficult without performance issues. It should also be understood thatlight 122 leaving polarizing beam splitter will also be of greatintensity. For example, projected light 122 leaving subsystem 100 maygenerally be greater than 40 lumens, or greater than 50 lumens, orgreater than 60 lumens, or greater than 70 lumens, or greater than 80lumens, or greater than 90 lumens, or potentially even greater than 100lumens or 110 lumens.

In a number of embodiments of the projection subsystem described herein,the polarizing beam splitter will be part of a polarization conversionsystem. FIG. 2 schematically illustrates another embodiment of aprojection subsystem 200 that includes polarization conversion system230.

In this embodiment of a projection subsystem 200, light 204 is onceagain emitted from a light source 202. Light will be emitted from thelight source at greater than 150 lumens, or greater than 200 lumens, orgreater than 300 lumens, or greater than 400 lumens, or greater than 500lumens, and potentially even greater than 750 lumens or 1000 lumens. Asdescribed earlier, typical projection systems or subsystems often timeshave an optical efficiency of between about 15 to 25%. As such light 122or 222 output or projected from a projection subsystem may generally beof a brightness of greater than 50 lumens, and potentially greater than60 lumens, greater than 70 lumens, greater than 80 lumens, greater than90 lumens, greater than 100 lumens, or even greater than 110 lumens.

Before reaching the polarizing beam splitter 240 that will direct thelight towards an imager 220, light 204 first travels through apolarization conversion system 230. Polarization conversion system ismade up in part of a polarizing beam splitter 246. As with polarizingbeam splitter 110 of FIG. 1, polarizing beam splitter 246 is made up ofa first cover 238 upon which light is first incident, a second cover 232opposite the first cover 238 from the light source, and a reflectivepolarizer 236 positioned between the first cover 238 and second cover232. Reflective polarizer 236 may generally be understood to be a filmsimilar to film 106 described in FIG. 1, e.g., in one embodiment, it maybe a multilayer optical film made of an appropriate polymer, such asPEN. First cover 238 and second cover 232 may generally correspond inmaterial to first cover 108 and second cover 112 of FIG. 1. For example,the covers may be made of an appropriate plastic, such as PMMA or CO.

Once light 204 is incident upon polarization beam splitter 246 ofpolarization conversion system 230, light 252 of one polarization (e.g.s or p-polarized light) is reflected and travels towards secondpolarizing beam splitter 240. Before arriving at second polarizing beamsplitter 240, light may first pass through a fly-eye array 260 and arelay lens 250. The fly-eye array 260 and relay lens 250 serve toimprove the uniformity of light traveling towards PBS 240, insure thatthe light fully illuminates the imager 220, and improve the overallefficiency of the subsystem 200. Other choices could be made toaccomplish the goals of homogenizing and relaying the light, includingintegrating tunnels or solid rods. Light of the opposite polarizationfrom light 252 travels through reflective polarizer 236, and secondcover 232 and passes through a half-wave film 234. Half-wave film 234rotates the polarization of light 254 such that it matches that of light252. It may then be reflected from the diagonal face of prism 244 inpolarization conversion system 230 and also directed through fly-eyearray 260 and relay lens 250 towards polarizing beam splitter 240.

This pre-polarization and polarization rotation by polarizationconversion system 230 allows nearly all of the light to be reflectedtowards imager 220 by polarizing beam splitter 240 and ultimatelyprojected through projection lens 224. Polarizing beam splitter 240should be understood to operate in the same manner as polarizing beamsplitter 110 of FIG. 1.

Although a greater number of elements are present in the embodimentillustrated in FIG. 2, and therefore some inherent losses may bepresent, the presence of fly-eye array and relay lens system, as well asthe presence of the polarization conversion system 230 provide a greatdeal of efficiency in the system. As a result the output light 222 thatis projected from the system by means of projection lens 224 will againbe of high intensity. For example, light 222 output from projectionsubsystem 200 may be of greater intensity than 40 lumens, or greaterthan 50 lumens, or greater than 60 lumens, or greater than 70 lumens, orgreater than 80 lumens, or greater than 90 lumens, or potentially evengreater than 100 lumens or 110 lumens.

As a part of the embodiments shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, or potentially in aseparate embodiment, the polarizing beam splitter may be part of a colorcombiner. This is illustrated by color combiner 380 in FIG. 3. In thisembodiment, rather than a commonly placed white light source, orcollection of sources creating white light, three separate light sourcesare placed on different sides of polarizing beam splitter 310. Theseinclude a blue light source 302B, green light source 302G, and red lightsource 302R. From each of the three blue, green and red channels, lightemitted from each of the three light sources travels first through adichroic mirror (360 a, 360 b, 360 c) and next through a quarter wavefilm 370, rotating the polarization of the light 304 a, 304 b and 304 cbefore it is incident upon polarizing beam splitter 310 and thereflective polarizer 306 within. Ultimately, light 322 projected fromthe color combiner through projection lens 324 will share the attributesof emitted light 122 and 222 described above. A complete description andbetter understanding of color combiners and the components describedtherein may be found in commonly owned and assigned U.S. PatentApplication Publication No. 2011/0149547 and commonly owned and assignedU.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/129,152, each of which is herebyincorporated by reference in its entirety.

It should further be understood that a number of optical elements beyondthose illustrated in the embodiments of FIGS. 1,2 and 3 may be presentto properly manipulate light and guide it through the projection systemas desired.

EXAMPLES Example 1

Test samples were prepared from PEN multilayer reflective polarizerfilms. A number of such polarizer films were adhered between two piecesof either 1 mm thick fused silica (glass), 1 mm thick float glass, or 3mm thick PMMA plastic plate. Each sample was adhered between the coversusing NOA-76 adhesive (available from Norland Products, Cranbury, N.J.,USA). The adhesive was photocured by passing the assembled samples undera fusion UV-curing lamp once on each side. Fifteen samples, five of eachconstruction (silica cover, float glass cover, or PMMA plastic cover)were irradiated using unpolarized light from an Ultra-High Pressure(UHP) Hg lamp, where light from the lamp was homogenized using anintegrating tunnel and filtered to the blue portion of the visiblespectrum in wavelength (430 nm to 490 nm). Light exiting the tunnel wasfocused on the samples and the irradiance on the samples was set, viathe filters and a mechanical aperture, to approximately 23 mW/mm².Because the output of the UHP lamps can vary over time, the irradiancewas measured and recorded on a weekly basis.

The samples were located in an enclosed chamber and the air inside thechamber was heated to maintain the sample surface temperature atapproximately 55° C. The samples were regularly removed from the chamberto monitor them for any change in the color of transmitted light. Thecolor was monitored visually using a spectrophotometer. Spectraltransmission data was collected using light polarized along the passdirection of the reflective polarizer film. The spectral transmissionwas converted to CIE L*a*b* color space. The sample was run until the b*value exceeded approximately 3.0, at which point it was consideredfailed. The dose of light leading to failure was estimated byintegrating the sample irradiance over the time from the start of thetest, until the sample was observed to have failed.

Results from the three sample types are illustrated in the graph of FIG.4. This graph provides the failure dose of all 15 samples on a Weibullplot. The graph also depicts the results of statistical analysis of thedata, assuming that the failure of the samples follows a Weibulldistribution and that the shape of the distribution is the same,regardless of the plate material used. As is apparent from the graph,the failure distributions of the samples that had covers of float glassand fused silica plates were nearly identical, with no statisticallysignificant difference between them. However, the failure of samples ofthe PEN multilayer optical film positioned between the PMMA plasticcovers occurred at a much greater dose and the difference wasstatistically significant. Numerical results for the estimated Mean Doseto Failure (MDTF) are provided in Table 1 below.

TABLE 1 Summary of Mean Dose to Failure for Three Samples Mean Dose toFailure Sample (Cover) (MJ/mm²) Relative Lifetime Fused Glass 0.115 1.0Fused Silica 0.113 1.0 PMMA Plate 0.392 3.4

As shown above, the PEN multilayer optical film encased in PMMA plasticwithstood 3.4 times greater exposure to blue light before degrading tothe point of failure. This translated directly to a 3.4 time increase inthe lifetime of a projector, all other things being equal.

To further illustrate the benefits of the PMMA covered polarizing beamsplitter as opposed to the glass covered splitter, one sample of thefused glass was tested versus one sample of the PMMA for b* yellownessover a given dosage and mapped. The results are illustrated in theexample shown in FIG. 5. As is clear from FIG. 5, while the degradationprocess is similar between the two samples, the b* yellowness of thePMMA covered polarizer did not reach a yellowing failure (greater than3.0) until a much higher dosage (e.g. for this sample approximately 0.36MJ/mm² vs. 0.11 MJ/mm²).

The present invention should not be considered limited to the particularexamples and embodiments described above, as such embodiments aredescribed in detail to facilitate explanation of various aspects of theinvention. Rather the present invention should be understood to coverall aspects of the invention, including various modifications,equivalent processes, and alternative devices falling within the spiritand scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A polarizing beam splitter (PBS) comprisinga multilayer reflective polarizer disposed between and adhering to firstand second plastic covers, wherein when exposed to an incident bluelight at a dose of about 0.3 MJ/mm², a b* yellow index of the PBSchanges by less than 2.0.
 2. The PBS of claim 1, wherein the reflectivepolarizer comprises PEN.
 3. The PBS of claim 1, wherein at least one ofthe first and second plastic covers comprises PMMA.
 4. The PBS of claim1, wherein each of the first and second plastic covers comprises PMMA.5. The PBS of claim 1, wherein at least one of the first and secondplastic covers comprises a coefficient of thermal expansion that iswithin 40 ppm/K of the coefficient of thermal expansion of the machinedirection of the reflective polarizer.
 6. The PBS of claim 1, wherein atleast one of the first and second plastic covers has a coefficient ofthermal expansion of between about 60 ppm/K and about 120 ppm/K.
 7. Aprojection system comprising the PBS of claim
 1. 8. The projectionsystem of claim 7 further comprising a light source emitting blue light,the PBS receiving the emitted blue light.
 9. A polarization conversionsystem comprising a right angle plastic cover disposed between andadhered to a multilayer reflective polarizer and a polarization rotator,wherein when exposed to an incident blue light at a dose of about 0.3MJ/mm², a b* yellow index of the polarization conversion system changesby less than 2.0.
 10. The polarization conversion system of claim 9,wherein the reflective polarizer comprises PEN.
 11. The polarizationconversion system of claim 9, wherein the right angle plastic covercomprises PMMA.
 12. The polarization conversion system of claim 9,wherein the polarization rotator comprises a half-wave film.
 13. Aprojection system comprising the polarization conversion system of claim9.
 14. The projection system of claim 13 further comprising a lightsource emitting blue light, the polarization conversion system receivingthe emitted blue light.